Bad dreams
by ohsosirius
Summary: It happens almost every night. They wake up because some of them is screaming. They are damaged, they are still scared and they are so so tired. But one night it all begins to get better for Hermione. This is the story of that night.
_A/N_ _: We all know I own nothing at all._

Sometimes she closed her eyes and pretended it hadn't happened. It worked, for a while, until she fell asleep and woke up screaming because the dream had felt so real. The knife was cutting her flesh again as she cried her lungs out, the words marked in her skin as a reminder of where she belonged in their new society. What she was, what little she meant to them. Then she would wake up, all sweaty and scared and needing comfort.

That is how she first ended in Ron's bed. It had been a particularly bad dream, one in which Dobby hadn't come to their rescue and she laid there while they brought Harry and Ron to the main room to killed them right before her eyes. She woke up crying and screaming; it took her a whole minute to realize it had been a dream.

Ginny was looking at her, she didn't know what to do, nobody did. They usually spoke for a while and then both went back to sleep. But this night Hermione knew sleep would not come so easily. She smiled weakly to Ginny, who understood her friend was dismissing her and went back to sleep. Hermione herself didn't know what to do and she didn't want to keep bothering Ginny. She got up, put on her sleep gown and slowly walked down to the kitchen, avoiding the steps she knew would crack under her feet.

Molly had taken to leaving some cookies on the table and a bottle of magically refrigerated milk besides them; she knew most nights some of her children, maybe more than one at a time, or maybe even herself or Arthur, would end up sitting in the kitchen, having been woken up by their or someone else's screams. Hermione appreciated once again this. With her parents still in Australia, the Weasleys were the closest thing she had to a family. That was another recurrent topic in her dreams; some nights, instead of Malfoy Manor, her nightmare revolved around the reunion with her parents, who in her dream were not at all as understanding as Hermione hoped they'd be. But while she knew that she could eventually fix anything that happened with her parents, she doubted that she would be able to fix her own brain as easily.

Hermione took a glass, poured in some milk and picked up a cookie. There was no point in going back to sleep right now, she would end up having another nightmare, so she resolved to grab a book. The Weasleys had a pretty big library, filled with children books she hadn't even heard of, since most of them belonged to the Wizarding World. That was what she needed, a good silly story to distract her thoughts.

While picking up a book ( _The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle_ and what seemed like a magical version of _Beauty and the Best_ were her final options) she heard a crack coming from the stairs. Her hand went automatically to pick her wand, a reflex caught during her quest for the Horrocruxes that still came naturally to her. And how could it not, when had it not been for their rapid moves, they would have been caught or killed in the blink of an eye. Closing just a little bit her eyes, to get a better sight in the dim living room, she realized that it was just Harry, staring at her with a sad expression.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked, coming closer to where she was standing. Hermione put her wand back in her pocket; Harry understood the need she felt to have it with her all the time and said nothing about it.

"No, and I'm sick of it! Not only can't I sleep, but my screaming wakes Ginny very night. She won't say anything, of course, but I know she is kind of tired of it. For Merlin's sake, I'm tired of it already". Hermione replied, leaning softly in the bookshelf. She was so tired.

"I know, some nights it's me shouting but some other nights it's Ron. We promised we wouldn't tell you or Ginny, but we are all damaged, you know? It's all too recent and it's all to painfull, I just hope we'll get over it… Someday…". His eyes showed vulnerability, something he tried to avoid to all costs. He grinned slightly, looking past her to the stairs, where he saw another figure coming down. It was a tall and lanky person; years of sharing a bedroom allowed him to realize it was Ron even though it was pretty dark.

"Hi guys, I heard you down here. You can't sleep, right? I think I heard Ginny singing in her bedroom. We are so bloody damaged, damn it!". Yes, it was Ron, and he was in no better shape than Harry and Hermione themselves. He got closer to Hermione, like trying to realize if he was allowed or not. Harry rapidly got the clue.

"I'm going to check on Gin, if… that's ok Ron?" Harry looked at his friend. They hadn't discussed this particular thing yet, hell, with all that was going on he had barely discussed it with Ginny. Ron nodded, though a little reluctant, but Harry wouldn't give him time to change his mind, as he raced up the stairs making as little noise as he could.

"That was mature Ron, I'm so proud!" Was she mocking him?

"Always the tone of surprise". He grinned. She smiled. He had her… Right?

"What are you doing down here?" Hermione asked, though they all knew the answer.

"Heard Harry shouting, woke up and couldn't fall asleep again. The usual. You?" He also knew the answer to this one, but he would let her talk, sharing seemed to help them.

"Another bad dream. This time Dobby didn't come back for us. Bellatrix had me there, lying on the floor but wouldn't kill me. She said she wanted me to see you two die… It was horrible Ron! I couldn't move, couldn't shout. She killed Harry first, and then she looked at you and… and that's when I woke up. Guess I couldn't take it anymore". She was positively sobbing by the time she finished telling him her dream. Ron was holding her, caressing her hair while kissing softly her temple.

"It's over love, we are alright. Harry is… I don't wanna think about what he's doing but he's fine. I'm fine, you see? Right here. And you are fine. Hell, I'm perfectly fine with were _you_ are right now. I could hold you forev…" He didn't finish. Hermione had stopped sobbing and was looking at him with her big brown eyes.

"You were gonna say forever Ronald? Already there? You haven't even kissed me again and you are talking of forever?" Hermione making fun of him? Again? This was new. It used to be the other way around but he decided he could get used to it, it made him liked her even more. Nonetheless he blushed that typical shade of red all Weasleys got when flushed.

"We can fix that…" He didn't give her time to reply, because he felt that one more second would make all his courage disappear and it would be replaced, yet again, by the fear of being rejected and cowardice. He kissed her, softly and tentatively. She responded just the same. So he went a little further, his right hand on the back of her neck while the other went slowly to her waist. When she didn't back down, he tightened his grip on her waist, while her hands went also to his neck. They kissed slowly, tenderly. After a while, Hermione cut the kiss and rested her head on his chest.

"I'm so tired…" She whispered, their proximity allowing him to hear her.

"Let's go to bed. Harry is probably in your room, though I rather pretend he disappeared somewhere else. Let's go to mine, I promise just sleep…" He was scared of what she might think of this proposal of his, she realized, which was sweet and silly at the same time.

"Don't be immature. They need each other, just like we need each other. And don't be silly, I wouldn't go anywhere I didn't want to, so you don't have to be afraid to ask, you know?" She smiled at him, her head still on her chest, and hugged him a little tighter to show him that she really meant it. "Let's go upstairs, I really could use some sleep."

They slowly pulled apart. Ron went up the stairs first, Hermione following him closely. They passed Ginny's bedroom and Ron opened the door to his room. Hermione admitted to herself she got a little nervous, but she was tired beyond care. Before Ron could sit on the bed, Hermione took her wand and muttered " _Engorgio_ ". The bed was now twice its original size and it proved to be just as comfortable as it looked when they both tucked under the blankets. Sleep came fast and, this time, neither of them dreamed of Malfoy Manor or of Horrcrux visions. The morning sun found Hermione cuddling against Ron, his arm over her chest, a smile on their lips.

It was the first of many nights in which Hermione and Harry quietly exchanged roommates. Some nights, when one of them had had a really bad one, the four of them would sleep in the same room. No adult complained, because they knew they needed each other and Molly finally realized and reluctantly admitted that she was not the one who could make her children better. Luckily, they had Hermione and Harry to take care of them.


End file.
